Support housing for a vehicle headlamp

ABSTRACT

A support housing for a vehicle headlamp that includes a pair of pivotally interconnected ring members adjustable about a pair of mutually perpendicular pivot axes by a pair of vertically oriented adjustment screws which are located to the rear of the headlamp and within the peripheral confines of the headlamp lens.

This invention relates to vehicle headlamps and more particularly to asupport housing for a rectangular headlamp and which can be attached tothe front end of a vehicle body and provides adjustable movement of theheadlamp about a pair of mutually perpendicular pivot axes for aimingthe headlamp relative to the vehicle.

More specifically, the headlamp support housing made according to thepresent invention includes a bracket member having an upright mountingportion adapted to be secured to a vehicle body. A pair of laterallyspaced arms project horizontally outwardly from the opposite ends of themounting portion and serve to support a first rectangular ring memberfor pivotal movement about a first pivot axis. A second rectangular ringmember is located within the first ring member and connected thereto forpivotal movement about a second pivot axis perpendicular to the firstpivot axis. Each corner of the second ring member is formed with aradially inwardly extending locator portion having a vertically orientedplanar surface against which rests one of the usual four seating pads onthe rear of the headlamp reflector. The headlamp is thus properlypositioned relative to the second ring member and maintained in fixedrelationship therewith by a removable retainer member attached to thesecond ring member by a spring clip arrangement. In addition, adjustmentof the headlamp about the first and second pivot axes for aimingpurposes is provided by a pair of vertically oriented adjustment screws,each of which is located adjacent one of the arms formed with themounting portion of the bracket member.

The objects of the present invention are: to provide a new and improvedsupport housing for a vehicle headlamp that includes a pair of ringmembers adjustable about a pair of mutually perpendicular pivot axes bya pair of adjustment screws one of which operates through a pin and slotconnection for moving the ring members about one of the pivot axes; toprovide a new and improved support housing for a vehicle headlamp havinga pair of vertically oriented adjustment screws accessible from abovethe support housing for adjusting the position of the headlamp about apair of mutually perpendicular pivot axes; to provide a new and improvedheadlamp support housing having a pair of vertically oriented adjustmentscrews which are located to the rear of the headlamp lens but within theouter limits thereof so as to provide a compact mounting unit; toprovide a new and improved support housing which supports a vehicleheadlamp and permits adjustable movement thereof about a pair ofmutually perpendicular pivot axes, and which can be preassembled andshipped to a vehicle manufacturer for direct mounting on a flat surfaceof a vehicle; and to provide a new and improved support housing forsupporting and adjusting the position of a headlamp and which can bereadily attached to a vehicle and arranged in pairs, either side-by-sideor vertically stacked, with one support housing above the other.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom the following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a support housing made inaccordance with the present invention, with a partially broken-awayrectangular headlamp mounted therein;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the upper portion of the support housing takenon line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the lower portion of the supporthousing taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view taken on line 4--4 of FIG. 1 showing oneside of the support housing;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 5--5 of FIG. 1showing more clearly one of the two adjustment screws incorporated inthe support housing;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view taken on line 6--6 of FIG. 1 showing theother side of the support housing;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 7--7 of FIG. 1showing more clearly the other adjustment screw incorporated in thesupport housing;

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of a rectangular headlamp mounted ina modified version of the support housing shown in FIGS. 1 through 7;

FIG. 9 is a plan view taken on line 9--9 of FIG. 8 showing the topportion of the modified support housing;

FIG. 10 is an elevational view taken on line 10--10 of FIG. 8 showingone of the two sides of the modified support housing;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken on line 11--11 of FIG. 8 showing oneof the two adjustment screws incorporated in the modified supporthousing;

FIG. 12 is an elevational view taken on line 12--12 of FIG. 8 showingthe other side of the modified support housing;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 13--13 of FIG. 8showing the other adjustment screw incorporated in the modified supporthousing; and

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 14--14 of FIG. 10.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through4, a conventional rectangular vehicle headlamp 10, comprising areflector 12 and lens 14, is shown mounted within a support housing 16made in accordance with the present invention. In general, the supporthousing 16 includes a bracket member 18, a pair of pivotallyinterconnected rectangular ring members 20 and 22, and a pair ofvertically oriented adjustment screws 24 and 26 which provide aimingadjustment of the headlamp 10 about a horizontal pivot axis identifiedby the letter A and a vertical pivot axis identified by the letter B inFIGS. 2 and 4. Each of the adjustment screws 24 and 26 is accessiblefrom above the support housing 16 and is located to the rear of theheadlamp lens 14 but within the peripheral confines thereof as seen inFIGS. 1 and 2.

More specifically, the bracket member 18 comprises a vertically orientedmounting portion 28 integrally formed with a pair of horizontallyprojecting arms 30 and 32. The mounting portion 28 is rigidly attachedto the body 33 of the vehicle by a plurality of threaded fasteners 34,and is formed with an enlarged aperture 36 (FIG. 5) through which theterminal members 38 of the headlamp 10 extend for connection with theusual connector (not shown) which forms a part of the vehicle wiringharness. As seen in FIGS. 2, 6, and 7, the arm 30 of the bracket member18 is integrally formed with an inwardly directed tongue 40 whichsupports a tapered nut 42. The lower end of nut 42 threadably receivesthe lower threaded end 44 of the adjustment screw 24, the slottedhead-end 46 of which is formed with a reduced neck portion 48 which, inthis case, is located in a U-slot 50 formed in a rearwardly projectingflange 52. For reasons to be explained hereinafter, the U-slot 50 in theflange 52 allows the adjustment screw 24 to be rotated about itslongitudinal center axis but prevents axial movement of the adjustmentscrew 24 relative to the flange 52.

As seen in FIGS. 1-4, the ring member 20 is located between the arms 30and 32 of the bracket member 18, and is formed as a sheet metal stampingof generally rectangular configuration. The ring member 20 comprisesparallel and vertically spaced top and bottom wall members 54 and 56connected to a pair of horizontally spaced side wall members 58 and 60.As seen in FIG. 2, the aforementioned flange 52 is integrally formedwith the top wall member 54 of ring member 20, while the side wallmembers 58 and 60 are respectively connected to the arms 30 and 32 ofthe bracket member 18 by the horizontally aligned pivotal connections 62and 64 which permit the ring member 20 to pivot about the horizontalpivot axis A relative to the fixed bracket member 18 when the adjustmentscrew 24 is threaded into or out of the nut 42.

Similarly, the ring member 22 is a sheet metal stamping generally ofrectangular configuration, and of slightly smaller size than ring member20 so as to allow ring member 22 to be located within and in closeproximity to ring member 20. The ring member 22 comprises parallelvertically spaced top and bottom wall members 66 and 68 connected to apair of horizontally spaced side wall members 70 and 72. The top andbottom wall members 66 and 68 of ring member 22 are connected tocorresponding top and bottom wall members 54 and 56 of ring member 20 byvertically aligned pivotal connections 74 and 76 which allow the ringmember 22 to pivot about the vertical axis B relative to ring member 20,under the control of the adjustment screw 26 carried by the ring member20. In this regard--and as seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the side wall member60 of ring member 20 is integrally formed with a rearwardly projectingflange 78 rigidly supporting a nut 80 which threadably receives thethreaded shank portion 82 of the adjustment screw 26. A similar flange84 is located directly below flange 78 and is integrally formed with theside wall member 60 of ring member 20. A bushing 86 for guiding thelower end 88 of the adjustment screw 26 is fixed to the flange 84. Theintermediate portion of the shank portion 82 of adjustment screw 26 hasa conical cam member 90 secured thereto and adapted to engage a ramp 92formed on a follower member 94 integrally formed with the side wallmember 72 of the ring member 22. The ramp 92 is maintained in engagementwith the cam member 90 by a coil spring 96--one end 98 of which isconnected to the lower end of the side wall member 72 of ring member 22,while the other end 100 of the spring 96 is connected to the mountingportion 28 of the bracket member 18. Thus, by rotating the slottedhead-end 101 of the adjustment screw 26 in one direction, the cam member90 can be moved vertically from the full-line position to the phantomline position shown in FIG. 3, causing the follower member 94 to movehorizontally outwardly from the full-line position to the phantom lineposition and, accordingly, the ring member 22 is positioned about thevertical pivot axis B which passes through the centers of pivotalconnections 74 and 76.

The headlamp 10 is carried by the ring member 22 and it will be notedthat, as seen in FIG. 1, each corner of ring member 22 is integrallyformed with a radially inwardly extending locator portion having avertically oriented planer surface 102 against which one of the fourcorner seating pads 104 (FIG. 3) formed on the rear of the reflector 12is seated for properly locating the headlamp 10 relative to the ringmember 22. A retainer member 106, in the form of a rectangular frame,surrounds the lens 14 of headlamp 10 and serves to press and maintainthe seating pads 104 of the headlamp 10 firmly in contact with thesurfaces 102 of the locator portions formed on the ring member 22. As isconventional, the retainer member 106 includes parallel and verticallyspaced top and bottom wall sections 108 and 110 which connect with apair of parallel and horizontally spaced side wall sections 112 and 114.The top and bottom wall sections 108 and 110 and side wall sections 112and 114 are integrally formed with a radially inwardly extending rim 116which contacts the frontal portion of the lens 14. As seen in FIGS. 3, 4and 6, the bottom wall section 110 of the retainer member 106 is formedwith a pair of identical ears 118 and 120 which are spaced an equaldistance from the side wall sections 112 and 114, respectively. Each ear118 and 120 has an aperture 122 formed therein that receives a hook 124rigidly formed with the bottom wall member 68 of the ring member 22. Inthis manner, the bottom wall section 110 of the retainer member 106 isconnected to the ring member 22.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pair of horizontally spaced and upwardlyextending flanges 126 and 128 are formed with the top wall section 108of the retainer member 106. Each of the flanges 126 and 128 has anelongated horizontal slot 130 (FIG. 1) formed therein and cooperateswith a spring clip member 132 for connecting the top wall section 108 ofthe retainer member 106 to the ring member 22. It will be noted that theflanges 126 and 128 are respectively seated on lips 133 and 134extending forwardly from the top wall member 66 of the ring member 22.It will also be noted that each spring clip member 132 includes a pairof legs 135 and 136 connected to a loop section 138 which is held by ahook 140 rigidly formed on the top wall member 66 of the ring member 22.The legs 135 and 136 extend through the slot 130 of the associatedflange 126, 128, formed on the retainer member 106 and each leg 135, 136terminates with a tang 142. As seen in FIG. 2, each leg 135 and 136 isbent rearwardly and engages a hook 144 rigidly formed with the frontedge of the ring member 22.

Thus when it is necessary to remove the headlamp 10 from the ring member22, the tangs 142 of each spring clip member 132 are initially manuallybent rearwardly to disengage the legs 135 and 136 from the hooks 144after which the legs 135 and 136 are raised upwardly to clear the hooks144 and permitted to assume an unflexed position shown in phantom linesin FIG. 2. The tangs 142 of each spring clip member 132 are thenmanually pressed together and the top wall section 108 of the retainermember 106 is pivoted, as seen in phantom lines in FIG. 4, about thehooks 124 of ring member 22 permitting the slot 130 of each flange 126and 128 to clear the raised legs 135 and 136 of the associated springclip member 132. The ears 118 and 120 are then released from engagementwith the hooks 124 and the retainer member 106 is removed from thesupport housing 16.

As should be apparent, the procedure set forth above for removing theretainer member 106 is reversed when it is desired to mount a headlampin the support housing 16.

As should be apparent from the above description, when it is desired toaim the headlamp 10 about the horizontal pivot axis A, a screwdriver isused to rotate the adjustment screw 24 in a clockwise orcounterclockwise direction, as seen in FIG. 2. If rotated in a clockwisedirection, the adjustment screw 24 will move axially into the nut 42 andsimultaneously the head-end 46 will tilt rearwardly as seen in FIG. 6,causing the flange 52 to be drawn towards the mounting portion 28. As aresult, the ring members 20 and 22 together with the headlamp 10 pivotas a unit in a clockwise direction about the horizontal pivot axis A.The nut 42, as seen in FIG. 7, has the lower portion thereof only formedwith threads which engage the threads of the adjustment screw 24.Accordingly, the adjustment screw 24 when screwed into the nut 42 willtilt rearwardly, as aforementioned. Conversely, when the adjustmentscrew 24 is rotated counterclockwise, as seen in FIG. 2, so as to causethe adjustment screw 24 to be moved axially out of the nut 42, the lowerportion of the adjustment screw 24 will pivot about the nut 42 and thehead-end 46 will tilt forwardly so as to cause the flange 52 to be movedaway from the mounting portion 28 with resultant counterclockwisemovement of the ring members 20 and 22 and the headlamp 10 about thehorizontal pivot axis A as seen in FIG. 6.

Aiming of the headlamp 10 about the vertical pivot axis B is effected byclockwise or counterclockwise rotation of the adjustment screw 26 asseen in FIGS. 2 and 4. Thus, when the adjustment screw 26 is rotatedclockwise, as seen in FIG. 2, the screw 26 will move axially downwardlyinto the nut 80 under the guiding control of the bushing 86. Thedownward movement of the screw 26 causes corresponding movement of thecam member 90 which results in outward movement of the follower member94 against the bias of the coil spring 96. Inasmuch as the followermember 94 is integral with the side wall member 72 of ring member 22,the ring member 22 and the supported headlamp 10 are, accordingly,pivoted in a counterclockwise direction about the vertical pivot axis Bas seen in FIG. 2. Conversely, rotation of the adjustment screw 26 in acounterclockwise direction, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, causes theadjustment screw 26 and the attached cam member 90 to be moved axiallyupwardly relative to the follower member 94. As a result, the bias ofspring 96 causes the follower member 94 and the integrally formed sidewall member 72 to move toward the mounting portion 28 so that the ringmember 22 and the headlamp 10 pivot in a clockwise direction about thevertical pivot axis B as seen in FIG 2.

It will be noted that the full line and phantom line positions of thecam member 90 and the follower member 94 as seen in FIG. 5, are theextreme positions assumed by these members during the rotation of theadjustment screw 26.

FIGS. 8 through 14 of the drawings show a support housing 146 which is amodified form of the support housing 16 shown in FIGS. 1 through 7.Basically, the difference between the support housing 146 and thesupport housing 16 is in the type of adjustment screw arrangementprovided for moving the headlamp about the horizontal and vertical pivotaxes and also in the type of the spring clip used for securing theretainer member to the support housing for mounting the headlamptherein. Therefore, inasmuch as the support housing 146 is essentiallythe same in construction and function as the support housing 16, theparts of the support housing 146 corresponding to the parts of thesupport housing 16 are identified by the same reference numerals butprimed.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, it can be seen that as in the case ofsupport housing 16 the support housing 146 includes a bracket member 18'and a pair of rectangular ring members 20' and 22' which are pivotallyinterconnected so as to provide aiming adjustment of the rectangularheadlamp 10' about a horizontal pivot axis A' and a vertical pivot axisB'. In this case, adjustment of the headlamp 10' about the horizontalpivot axis A' and the vertical pivot axis B' is achieved by manualrotation of a pair of vertically oriented adjustment screws 147 and 148located within the peripheral confines of the lens 14' as seen in FIG. 8and accessible from the top of the support housing 146.

As best seen in FIGS. 9 and 10, the bracket member 18' includes avertically oriented mounting portion 28' rigidly formed with rearwardlyprojecting headlamp terminal guard members 150 and 152 and a pair ofparallel and horizontally forwardly projecting arms 30' and 32'.Although not shown, the mounting portion 28' of the bracket member 18'has apertures formed therein which allow the bracket member 18' to besecured to a vehicle body in the manner of support housing 16. Also, themounting portion 28' includes an enlarged centrally located aperture 36'permitting the terminals (not shown) of headlamp 10' to extendrearwardly beyond the mounting portion 28' for electrical connectionwith the usual connector carried by the vehicle wiring harness.

The ring members 20' and 22' are located between the arms 30' and 32' ofthe bracket member 18' and, as seen in FIGS. 8, 9, 10 and 12, the sidewall members 58' and 60' of the ring member 20' are connected to thearms 30' and 32', respectively, by horizontally aligned pivotalconnections 62' and 64' which allow the ring member 20' to be adjustedabout the horizontal pivot axis A'. The top and bottom wall members 66'and 68' of the ring member 22' are located between the top and bottomwall members 54' and 56' of the ring member 20' and are respectivelyconnected thereto by vertically aligned pivotal connections 74' and 76'which allow the ring member 22' to pivot about the vertical pivot axisB' relative to the ring member 20' for aiming the headlamp 10'.

As aforementioned, the adjustment of the headlamp 10' is realized byrotation of the adjustment screws 147 and 148, and in this regard, itwill be noted that a flange 154 (FIGS. 9 and 12) fixed to the arm 30' ofbracket member 18' has a U-slot 156 formed therein which supports theslotted head-end 157 of the adjustment screw 147 for rotation relativeto the flange 154. The threaded shank 158 of the adjustment screw 147 isthreadably received by the nut 159 rigidly mounted within a flange 160located below flange 154 and integrally formed with the side wall member58' of the ring member 20'. Rotation of the adjustment screw 147 in onedirection or the others, causes the threaded shank 158 to be threadedinto or out of the nut 159 causing the flange 160 to move upwardly ordownwardly and as a result the ring members 20' and 22', andaccordingly, the headlamp 10' is adjusted in position about thehorizontal pivot axis A' defined by pivotal connections 62' and 64'.

As to the adjustment of the headlamp 10' about the vertical pivot axisB', it will be noted that, as seen in FIGS. 9, 10, 11 and 14, the sidewall member 60' of the ring member 20' incudes a rearwardly extendingflange 162 formed with a U-slot 164 which carries the slotted head-end166 of adjustment screw 148. The U-slot 164 allows rotation of theadjustment screw 148 about its longitudinal axis but prevents axialmovement of the adjustment screw 148 relative to the flange 162. Thelower end 167 of the adjustment screw 148 is received by a bushing 86'fixed within the flange 84' which extends rearwardly from and is rigidlyconnected to the side wall member 60' of the ring member 20'.Intermediate the head-end 166 and the lower end 167 of the adjustmentscrew 148, a nut 168 is threadably mounted on the threaded shank portion169 of the adjustment screw 148. As seen in FIG. 14, the nut 168includes a body portion 170 formed with oppositely extending arms 172and 174 and has a cylindrical projection or pin 176 which extends into aslot 178 formed in a spherical section 180 which is integral with andextends rearwardly from the side wall section 72' of the ring member22'.

As best seen in FIGS. 10 and 11, the longitudinal center axis of theslot 178 is inclined at an angle of approximately 45° to an imaginaryhorizontal plane passing through the horizontal pivot axis A' so thatupon rotation of the adjustment screw 148 in one direction or the other,the nut 168 moves upwardly or downwardly along the shank portion 169 ofthe adjustment screw 148 and causes the projection 176 to move todifferent positions within the slot 178. As a result, the sphericalsection 180 and, accordingly, the attached ring member 22' and headlamp10' are movable about the vertical pivot axis B'. It will also be notedthat as seen in FIGS. 10 and 14, a spring arm 182 integrally formed withthe side wall member 72' of ring member 22' serves to bias the arms 172and 174 of the nut 168 into surface contact with the spherical section180 so as to maintain the cylindrical projection 176 in the slot 178while the adjustment screw 148 is being rotated.

The retainer member 184 which serves to maintain the headlamp 10' withinthe ring member 22' of the support housing 146, is structurally similarto the retainer member 106 employed by the support housing 16 in thatthe retainer member 184 is also rectangular in configuration andincludes top and bottom parallel wall sections 108' and 110' and a pairof parallel side wall sections 112' and 114' each formed with a radiallyinwardly extending rim 116'. Aslo, as in the case of the retainer member106, the bottom wall section 110' of the retainer member 184 is formedwith a pair of rearwardly extending apertured ears 118' and 120' whilethe top wall section 108' includes a pair of flange portions 126' and128' each of which has a horizontal slot 130' formed therein. Each ofthe ears 118' and 120' is mounted on a hook 124' integrally formed withthe front edge of the bottom wall member 68' of the ring member 22'while the flange portions 126' and 128' seat upon outwardly extendinglips 133' and 134' respectively, integrally formed with the front edgeof the top wall member 66' of the ring member 22'.

Rather than having separate spring clips as found in support housing 16for connecting each of the flange portions 126' and 128' to the ringmember 22', a unitary spring clip 190 (FIG. 9) made from a single strandof spring wire is provided which includes a pair of identical loopsections 192 and 194 each of which is retained by a hook 195 fixed tothe top wall member 66' of the ring member 22'. The loop sections 192and 194 are interconnected by an intermediate section consisting of apair of axially aligned straight portions 196 and 198 connected to aU-shaped portion 200 located midway between the loop sections 192 and194. A leg section is also connected to each of the loop sections 192and 194 and each leg section consists of a pair of straight portions 202and 204 which are located in a vertical plane forwardly offset from andparallel to a vertical plane passing through the straight portions 196and 198 of the intermediate section of the spring clip 190. A U-shapedportion 206, which is substantially the same in size as the U-shapedportion 200, extends through the slot 130' of the associated flangeportion and interconnects the straight portions 202 and 204. Inaddition, each leg section terminates with a straight portion 208 whichengages a hook 210 formed on the front edge of the ring member 22'adjacent each side wall member thereof and connects with a straightportion 202. The straight portions 208 are located in a vertical planerearwardly offset from and parallel to a vertical plane passing throughthe straight portions 196 and 198.

As seen in FIG. 9, the retainer member 184 can be released from the ringmember 22' for removal of headlamp 10' by initially bending the straightportion 208 of each leg section rearwardly towards the mounting portion28' to disengage each leg section from the hook 210 after which thestraight portion 208 is raised upwardly of the top wall member 66' ofthe ring member 22' to clear the hook 210. Each leg section is then bentforwardly to remove the U-shaped portion 206 from the accommodating slot130' after which the top wall section 108' is tilted about the hooks124' (FIG. 10) to remove the retainer member 184.

Various changes and further modifications can be made in theconstruction of this headlamp support housing without departing from thespirit of the invention. Such changes and modifications are contemplatedby the inventor, and he does not wish to be limited except by the scopeof the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. A support housing attachable to a vehicle body at the front end thereof and adapted to support and provide adjustable aiming movement of a headlamp about a pair of mutually perpendicular first and second pivot axes, said support housing including a bracket member comprising a vertically oriented mounting portion adapted to be secured to said vehicle body and a pair of laterally spaced arms fixed to said mounting portion, said arms extending horizontally outwardly from said mounting portion; a first ring member supported between said arms for pivotal movement about said first pivot axis, a second ring member located within said first ring member and supported by said first ring member for pivotal movement about said second pivot axis, said second ring member having a rearwardly extending section formed therewith, locator surfaces formed on said second ring member forwardly of said slot for engaging seating pads formed on the rear portion of said headlamp; a retainer member removably attached to said second ring member and surrounding the lens of said headlamp for maintaining said seating pads firmly in contact with said locator surfaces; a first adjustment screw located between said bracket member and said first ring member for adjusting the position of said headlamp about said first pivot axis, a second adjustment screw carried by said first ring member and having a nut threadably mounted on the shank portion of said second adjustment screw adjacent said rearwardly extending section of said second ring member and a pin and slot connection joining said nut to said rearwardly extending section so that upon rotation of said second adjustment screw said nut moves along said shank portion and said pin moves to different positions within said slot for adjusting the position of said headlamp about said second pivot axis, said first and second adjustment screws and said nut being located within the peripheral confines of said lens of said headlamp so as to provide a compact support housing.
 2. A support housing attachable to a vehicle body at the front end thereof and adapted to support and provide adjustable aiming movement of a headlamp about a pair of mutually perpendicular first and second pivot axes, said support housing including a bracket member comprising a vertically oriented mounting portion adapted to be secured to said vehicle body and a pair of laterally spaced arms fixed to said mounting portion, said arms extending horizontally outwardly from said mounting portion; a first ring member supported between said arms for pivotal movement about said first pivot axis, a second ring member located within said first ring member and supported by said first ring member for pivotal movement about said second pivot axis, said second ring member having a rearwardly extending section with an elongated slot formed therein; locator surfaces formed on said second ring member forwardly of said slot for engaging seating pads formed on the rear portion of said headlamp; a retainer member movably attached to said second ring member and surrounding the lens of said headlamp for maintaining said seating pads firmly in contact with said locator surfaces; a first vertically oriented adjustment screw located between said bracket member and said first ring member for adjusting the position of said headlamp about said first pivot axis, a second vertically oriented adjustment screw carried by said first ring member and having a nut threadably mounted on the shank portion of said second adjustment screw, and a projection formed on said nut and extending into said slot of said rearwardly extending section of said second ring member so that upon rotation of said second adjustment screw said nut moves along said shank portion and said projection moves to different positions within said slot for adjusting the position of said headlamp about said second pivot axis, said first and second adjustment screws and said nut being located within the peripheral confines of said lens of said headlamp so as to provide a compact support housing.
 3. A support housing attachable to a vehicle body at the front end thereof and adapted to support and provide adjustable aiming movement of a headlamp about a horizontal pivot axis and a verical pivot axis, said support housing including a bracket member comprising a vertically oriented mounting portion adapted to be secured to said vehicle body and a pair of laterally spaced arms fixed to the opposite ends of said mounting portion, said arms extending horizontally outwardly from said mounting portion; a first ring member supported between said arms for pivotal movement about said horizontal pivot axis, a second ring member located within said first ring member and supported by said first ring member for pivotal movement about said vertical pivot axis, said second ring member having a rearwardly extending section with an elongated slot formed therein, the longitudinal center axis of said slot being inclined to a horizontal plane passing through said horizontal pivot axis, locator surfaces formed on said second ring member forwardly of said slot for engaging seating pads formed on the rear portion of said headlamp; a retainer member removably attached to said second ring member and surrounding the lens of said headlamp for maintaining said seating pads firmly in contact with said locator surfaces; a first vertically oriented adjustment screw located between said bracket member and said first ring member for adjusting the position of said headlamp about said horizontal pivot axis, a second vertically oriented adjustment screw carried by said first ring member and having a nut threadably mounted on the shank portion of said second adjustment screw, a projection formed on said nut and extending into said slot of said rearwardly extending section of said second ring member so that upon rotation of said second adjustment screw said nut moves along said shank portion and said projection moves to different positions within said slot for adjusting the position of said headlamp about said vertical pivot axis, and a spring member carried by said second ring member for biasing said nut towards said slot so as to maintain said projection in said slot during rotation of said second adjustment screw, said first and second adjustment screws and said nut being located within the peripheral confines of said headlamp lens so as to provide a compact support housing. 